Chapter 7 - THE LAWYER’S SECRET
My blood turned to ice.
Sarah—elegant, professional, trusted Sarah—stood before me. Her face was pale, her expression hard.
“Give it to me, Mia,” she said again. “And no one needs to get hurt.”
“You are ‘WITNESS,’” I said.
Sarah did not deny it. She only extended her hand.
“Vanessa found out,” she said. “She dug too deep. She learned things she should never have known. And she wrote it all down in that letter.”
“What did she learn?” I asked.
Sarah looked at me, and for the first time, I saw no kindness in her eyes.
“She learned that I was the one who helped your mother die.”
The words hung in the cold air.
“Lily didn’t die of illness,” Sarah said. “She was murdered. Slowly. Quietly. And I helped. Because I was paid. Because I was greedy. Because I thought I could get away with it.”
I stepped back, trembling. “And Vanessa?”
“Vanessa found records. Old files. Emails. She confronted me. She said she would expose me. Unless I helped her take everything from your father.” Sarah’s voice shook. “So I agreed. I played along. But I knew… if she released what she knew… I would go to prison. I would lose everything. So I made certain she would never speak.”
My heart hammered. “Where is she?”
Sarah did not answer directly. “She is no longer a problem. But the letter is. It names me. It has proof. And if your father reads it… I am finished.”
“So you sent the message,” I said. “You wanted to trick me.”
“I needed that letter, Mia. And I knew you would come if I threatened your father.” She stepped closer. “Now give it to me.”
I gripped the letter in my pocket. “No.”
Sarah’s face hardened. “Do not make me hurt you. I have never wanted to harm a child. But I will not spend the rest of my life in prison.”
“Then why did you kill my mother?” I demanded.
Sarah paused. A flicker of something—regret? sorrow?—crossed her face.
“I didn’t want to. But your father… he was going to ruin me. He discovered I had been stealing from the firm. From the trust. From Lily. Lily was going to tell him. She was going to fire me. I would have lost my license. My home. My reputation. Everything.” She swallowed. “So I acted first. And I made it look like natural causes.”
Horror washed over me. My own mother’s lawyer. The woman she trusted most. Had killed her over money.
“And Vanessa found out,” I said.
“She was smarter than I gave her credit for. She pieced it all together. And she wrote it down. Every detail. Every transaction. Every confession.” Sarah extended her hand again. “Give it to me, Mia. Please. Let me destroy it. And I will disappear. You will never see me again. No one else needs to die.”
Behind Sarah, movement caught my eye.
Claire and Julian stood at the edge of the trees. They had followed me. Claire raised a finger to her lips.
I understood. Keep Sarah talking.
“If I give it to you,” I said slowly, “will you tell me everything? Everything that happened?”
Sarah hesitated. “Yes.”
“Tell me about the night my mother died.”
Sarah glanced at her watch. “There is no time—”
“Tell me!” I shouted.
Sarah stepped forward fast. “Enough.”
She lunged for me.
“Now!” Claire cried.
She and Julian rushed from the trees. Sarah spun around, startled. Julian tackled her to the ground. Claire grabbed me, pulling me back.
“Are you hurt?” Claire asked frantically.
I shook my head.
Sarah struggled beneath Julian. “Let me go! You do not understand! If that letter exists… they will kill us all!”
“Who?” I demanded. “Who else is involved?”
Sarah went still. Her eyes widened.
“Too late,” she whispered.
A second figure stepped from the darkness near the water.
Tall. Calm. Familiar.
May you like
My father’s head of security—Mr. Hale.
He held a gun. And he pointed it directly at us.
